Pipe bomb thrown at police in Derry

Dissident republicans suspected of attack during rioting near the end of a loyalist parade through the city Dissident republicans are suspected to have thrown a pipe bomb at police lines during riots in Derry on Saturday night. The Northern Ireland police service said no one was injured in the blast which happened at Free Derry Corner shortly before 7pm. The trouble continued with petrol bombs thrown at the police in the Butcher Gate area close to the city centre. The rioting erupted near the end of the loyalist Apprentice Boys’ parade, during which 15,000 marchers and their supporters walked through the city to mark the anniversary of the 1688/89 siege. Masked republican youths attacked police vehicleswith petrol bombs and a number of cars were also hijacked and set alight, including a woman and her daughter who were pulled from their car in the Creggan Street area. A Royal Mail van was also hijacked at Madamsbank Road and torched in Earhart Park. Motorists in the area were warned to be vigilant as a car was set alight in Fahan Street and a van was hijacked on the Leckey Road. Police also came under attack when petrol bombs were thrown at the Apprenctice Boys’ headquarters, the Memorial Hall and at PSNI vehicles. SDLP Assembly man for Derry Mark H Durkan described the scenes in the city as “disgraceful”. “I do believe we have a serious situation here, there’s quite a large number of youths gathered in the Bogside. We had a couple of vans set alight. There’s also a car in flames. I just hope the police have a good handle on the situation.” Two arrests were made earlier in the day for disorderly and riotous behaviour and a 16-year-old boy was arrested for disorderly behaviour at premises on the Dungiven Road. Northern Ireland Crime Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.